


Hatori

by Adel Mortescryche (Mortescryche)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Child Neglect, Crossover, Emotional Manipulation, F/M, Family, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Harry Potter is a Good Brother, Harry Potter is a Good Friend, M/M, Might be Tempted to Continue or Rewrite this, Multi, Old work, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Women Being Awesome, Work In Progress, unfinished work
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-03-28
Packaged: 2019-04-07 23:23:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14091981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mortescryche/pseuds/Adel%20Mortescryche
Summary: When seven-year-old Higurashi Kagome awoke from a nightmare and ran to theGoshinboku, the last thing she expected to find was a small boy having messy black hair, emerald green eyes and a lightening bolt scar almost completely buried in the snow.(Or, that one in which Harry takes matters into his own hands, escapes the Dursleys, finds a new family for himself, and sets out to secure a life of his own by working with a sub-branch of the Japanese Ministry of Magic. All from a very young age. Kagome and her adventures with the Bone-Eater's Well are... an unexpected setback in his otherwise ordered life.)---Originally posted in 2009. Transferring it to AO3 for archival purposes.





	1. Prologue I - Kagome

**Author's Note:**

> Originally Posted in 2009. May carry dated tropes and is _definitely_ of poorer writing quality than my present work.
> 
> No trigger warnings for this chapter.

It was barely dawn when she woke up with a startled gasp. Sweat was pouring down her temple, and her chest was heaving from the residual fright and pain from her dream. She abrupt swung her legs over the edge of her little bed, almost stumbling out of it.

The house was still really dark, and she could hear he soft snores coming from her parents’ room. Her baby brother had been surprisingly quiet tonight. She was actually relieved. If e had been screaming or crying, her dreams, no… nightmares would probably have been worse. She stumbled towards the front door, her small body beginning to shiver in the cold. Maybe she should have pulled a coat on top of her pajamas?

Too late now… She was abruptly at the door. She tugged at it, but it was still locked. She almost wished someone else was awake; she was still too short to reach the lock. Standing on the tips of her toes, she managed to reach the latch and somehow tugged it opened. As soon as the door creakily opened, she was off like a flash, rushing towards the _Goshinboku_. She didn’t know why, but ever since she had had that dream, something had been telling her to go to the tree.

Ignoring how cold she was starting to feel and how wet her clothes had become, she pushed her way through the snow on the ground she until she finally reached the tree. She stopped at its base and looked around, wondering what had been so urgent in her dreams to send her here. It was only when she remained still for a few moments that she noticed _it_.

She gasped, rushing towards the dark head of hair that stood out starkly against the white of the snow. When she reached it, she noticed that it belonged to a little boy, maybe her age, maybe a little older. She reached out with trembling fingers, praying that the boy wasn’t dead. She didn’t want him to be dead.

When her fingers touched his skin, his hand abruptly shot up to catch her by the wrist. She stared, wide-eyed, into the boy’s narrow, pain-filled eyes. They were green, a bright emerald green. They were very pretty, she decided.

“Who are you?” she whispered, almost scared to break the silence. He continued to stare at her, breathing heavily. The pain in his eyes was slowly replaced by confusion. He tilted his head, and whispered back something that didn’t make any sense to her. She frowned back and shook her head. He bit his lip, beginning to tremble. It was only then that she realized that the boy was dressed in what looked like rags belonging to an overgrown male, most definitely not his own. Coming to a quick decision that was almost easy for her young mind, she started tugging him upwards, desperate to get him and herself out of the cold, warmth-stealing snow. He was still staring at her in confusion, and moved sluggishly. She quickened her efforts to get him out of the snow, recognizing the signs of what mama called hypo-something-or-the-other. Not understanding but silently complying with her efforts, he tried to move a little faster as well, welcoming the warmth that seeped into his cold fingers from her.

By the time they finally reached the main house, their teeth were chattering, and the boy was beginning to look a little blue. He stumbled and fell down. Getting scared, she started hammering on the front door, screaming for help.

Her mama and papa immediately rushed to the door, staring in shock at her and the boy whom she was cradling in her lap. The shock seemed to melt away quickly though, and her papa quickly lifted the boy up and took him in. Her mama swung her up and carried her in as well; whispering soft admonishments in her ear, but she ignored whatever mama was saying, staring at the boy who was sitting on the table now, blinking slowly in the light. Grandpa had woken up, and he was making some hot chocolate for the boy while papa wrapped a warm blanket around his shoulders. Mama set her down beside the boy and went to turn up the heater.

Once the boy was sipping carefully on the hot chocolate, a look of wonder painted across his face, papa slid into a chair in front of him. The boy immediately stopped drinking and looked up to stare at him.

“What’s your name?” he murmured softly, looking for some form of recognition in his eyes. Her eyes widened, and she quickly interrupted.

“Papa, he didn’t answer me before when I asked him. He said something funny, I couldn’t understand…”

Her papa’s eyebrows rose, and he turned to stare at the boy who was now looking at her, just as confused as before. He opened his mouth and said something again, and her father sighed in understanding. To her surprise, he said something in the same language. The boy’s head turned towards him immediately, looking relieved. They both said a few things, and the boy finally looked down, mumbling something. Unable to wait any longer, she asked her papa what his name was. Her papa looked at her, a strange mix of anger, horror and sorrow mixing in his eyes.

“Harry,” he said finally. “Potter Harry.”

Her eyebrows lowered in confusion. That was a very funny name. Noticing that he was looking at her silently, she quickly exchanged the frown for a bright smile.

“I’m Higurashi Kagome!” she exclaimed, giving him a wide grin. He blinked again, before finally giving her a hesitant smile. She didn’t know why, but when she saw that smile, she felt something warm fill her. Like when she had a mug full of hot chocolate on a cold day, sitting in front of a fire. Or like a whole spoon of honey sliding down her throat. She slowly traded her grin for an honest smile, even as mama rushed for the phonebook.

*

It was only a few days later when a young woman stepped into her home. She stared at the woman beside a still silent Ha’ri, as she had taken to calling the strange boy that had suddenly entered her life. She had found out that he was actually two years older than her, though he didn’t look it. Her mama looked very worried as she spoke to the woman along with papa and Grandpa. The woman gave an oily smile that she didn’t really like. If she judged that shudder right, neither did Ha’ri.

They spoke for some more time, and finally, mama gave a relieved smile. Papa called out to both of them. She and Ha’ri looked at each other, before silently running to see what papa wanted.

When they reached the living room, she noticed that papa was smiling just as much as mama. He spoke quietly to Ha’ri, who frowned almost immediately. She quickly laced her fingers through his own, making him blink, before he smiled at her. She smiled back, a soft flush spreading across her cheeks. The smile abruptly disappeared when the woman cooed at them, though. Ha’ri’s frown reappeared in full force.

“This lady is here to take Harry back to his family, Kagome.” Her papa said quietly. She stiffened, fingers clenching Ha’ri’s. His clenched too, before he let go. He looked up at the woman solemnly, before saying something in that strange language of his. She had learnt that it was called ‘English’. She couldn’t understand it at all, though Ha’ri could understand a bit of Japanese. Only if it was really slow, though.

The woman smiled at what he said, and said something in the same language. Ha’ri’s shoulders stiffened, before he sighed and nodded. The woman looked at mama and papa, who nodded seriously. Seeing them nod, Ha’ri’s eyes widened, before they went narrow again. He asked something, making the woman nod in response. He turned to papa, mama and Grandpa, saying something that made all of them smile. Grandpa grumbled something that she didn’t hear clearly, and papa translated. Ha’ri actually giggled, a wide smile spreading across his face. He abruptly turned towards her and gave her a big hug, making her gasp in surprise. She hugged back though. After that, he quietly went along with the woman, who called a casual ‘bye’ to everyone.

She didn’t see Ha’ri again for almost two months after that. By then, he had already changed too much to be called ‘Ha’ri’ ever again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, hope you enjoyed this prologue! Even if this _is_ a dated work. *wry grin* There's another to follow in Harry's POV before we get to the longer chapters.
> 
> While I currently have 5 more chapters complete and available for this, I'm going to be posting the chapters on alternate days or by the week, because I simply don't have the time to port them all over at once! See you soon with the next update. 
> 
> Remember, kudos and comments are **very welcome!** This might be old, but that doesn't mean that I wouldn't love to chat with you. Heck, it might spark off more ideas to actually finish this at some point.
> 
> \---
> 
> For anyone interested, the next new post from me will be: a oneshot KHRxBleach fic, from my backlogged files on Tumblr.
> 
> You can find me **[@adelmortescryche](https://adelmortescryche.tumblr.com/)** \- come by and say hi! I don't bite.


	2. Prologue II - Harry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry just wants to live a comfortable, uncomplicated life. Sad to say that his life is probably as far from that description as it can get.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Head on down for the trigger warnings!** And author's notes, I suppose.
> 
> English is in _italics_ , while Japanese is in normal text. Seeing as this _is_ set in Japan.

He stood silently at the corner, staring at the man buying something from a flower vendor who was walking by. The flower vendor smiled happily, making him frown. That made at least one unhappy person once the man was gone.

As the man moved forward, beginning to cross the road, Harry saw his chance. The light was going to turn red any moment, and once he was across, the man wouldn’t be able to catch up. Pulling up his hood, he rushed forward and managed to slam into the man on purpose. The man stumbled forward with a cry of shock, and in the confusion, he quickly and unobtrusively snatched the slim glass canister that was inside the man’s pocket. Calling out a hasty ‘sorry’, he ran across the crossing to the other side. The man remained where he was standing, yelling obscenities after him, even as the traffic restarted. Still running, he kept moving until he was certain that the man wouldn’t be able to catch him. Slowing down, he ducked into an alley to catch his breath. Feeling the presence of someone else materialising beside him, he immediately held out the canister for the other’s perusal, still panting for breath. He knew without looking that the she was smiling.

_“Good job, brat.”_ The tall, blond haired woman murmured, ruffling his hair. He simply frowned, looking up at her.

_“How much do I get for that?”_ he asked, frowning when he saw her smirk.

_“Not all that much. It wasn’t all that difficult, y’know. Of course, you pulled it off brilliantly. The man didn’t even guess that you managed to take the canister away from him. Kana followed up quite well, making sure to slam into him at some point.”_

He nodded. That was good. The man wouldn’t be able to figure out who exactly took the canister. And he wouldn’t be able to remember Kana’s face either. And, since Kana was older, it was likely that the blame would be falling on her.

_“Well, if I won’t get much for the job, am I any closer to being given a family?”_  He asked, frown deepening when he noticed that the woman’s smirk hadn’t disappeared yet.

_“My, my. Who would have thought that you would manage to get so attached to that bunch in only a few days?”_  She murmured rhetorically. He scowled.

_“It’s not about attachment, Miss. It’s just that being a part of the Higurashi family would make it easier to continue my work. I’m quite certain that my so-called ‘guardian’ family would only be painful.”_

She snorted in laughter, making him glare at her. Deciding that she wouldn’t be willing to answer any more questions, he pulled up his hood. Turning, he was about to leave, when she lashed out to catch his shoulder roughly. Ignoring the harsh grip she had on him, he looked over his shoulder to stare at her. A feral smirk was painted across her red lips, and she had a look of almost unholy glee glimmering in her eyes.

_“We’re not done here yet, Potter.”_

His scowl was abruptly traded for a glare, and he shrugged off her hand.

_“Quit calling me that. Do you have any idea what could happen if the wrong person heard you call me that?!!”_ He ground out, making her laugh.

_“Of course I do, brat. Not that it makes any real difference. At any rate, I’m to take you back to headquarters.”_

His glare only increased in intensity, even as she fluidly lifted him up to cradle him against her. The world bled away in a dizzying blur of colour and suddenly meshed back together when they reappeared in front of the desk of the Manager.

“Potter Harry,” murmured the dark haired man, turning to face them. The woman quickly dropped him to the floor, and it was only his situation-necessitated reflexes that prevented him from crashing on his ass. As it were, he managed to land on his feet like a cat. He straightened immediately, and gave a low bow. He stayed in the same position until the Manager asked him to straighten and take a seat. The woman was asked to leave.

Resting his chin upon his steepled fingers, the Manager continued to gaze at him. Harry tried hard not to fidget - he had learnt early on that it was a bad idea to shift uneasily while in the presence of the Manager. It always felt like he was watching for Harry's weak spots.

“I hear that your assignment was a success, child.” He murmured, making him flush.

“Y-yes. I…succeed.” He managed in broken Japanese. The Manager smirked slightly, making his flush deepen. He knew that he had been quite rude, but he honestly didn’t have a choice. The fact that he could even say that much after two whole months was amazing. He hadn’t exactly been given the opportunity to sit around and learn the language, after all. For the last two months, his entire life had gone haywire. To be honest, it had gone haywire ever since Uncle Vernon’s company had transferred him to the new Tokyo branch that they were opening.

“That’s right, you succeeded. With the end of this assignment, you have completed a total of 20 small assignments since you joined us. I believe that you deserve some kind of… ‘reward’ for your successes and your discipline.”

His eyes widened in shock, and in hope. His lips parted, but no sound came out. The Manager’s smirk broadened.

“Marie has been telling me that you keep asking when you will be given a family. I believe that you have finally reached a point where you can be trusted to become a part of a civilian family. Do you have any… preferences in this, or shall I choose one for you?”

He swallowed, and wet his lips. Then, sinking into a half-bow, he softly whispered.

“I… appreciate. Please, Higurashi. I prefer.”

The Manager blinked in surprise, before laughing.

“Certainly! Quite the choice, that. Very well, I’ll see if there’s any chance of the Higurashi family accepting you.”

He smiled in relief and happiness, for once feeling as though he was actually his age of nine years. Then, he straightened and cleared his face of any emotion, listening silently as the Manager read out his next assignment.

*

When they had finally reached Tokyo, being forced to leave behind any semblance of familiarity they might have felt, all of them had been taken aback by the vast differences between Surrey and Tokyo. For one, Surrey had been a quiet neighbourhood. When they reached Tokyo, they began to stay in a two bedroom apartment in the heart of the city, surrounded by noise and lights at all times of the day and night. For another, it was the overall attitude of the people. Uncle Vernon had had a largely easier time, since a majority of the people in his company were English, anyway. On the other hand, he and Dudley had begun going to a public school near their apartment since there had been no closer or better option. Not being able to understand a word of what their classmates and teachers were saying, they had been forced to gain a quick understanding of the language in spite of being unable to speak it. The teachers had been willing to let them answer in English in the beginning, getting the English teacher to correct their work, but they soon lost patience. The students in the class hadn’t held back from bullying Dudley either, whom they looked upon as an anomaly. His own dark hair and unobtrusive nature had proven to be a saving grace.

Of course, he just _had_ to go and mess it up with his need to help people, hadn’t he? Even as the bullying had increased, one day, Dudley’s wallet had been snatched away from him. Dudley had ended up running all the way home, willing to leave the money behind to save his own hide. Noticing this, he had taken it upon himself to get into a fight with the kids and after a brutal 10 minutes, he managed to wrench the wallet away from them. He had ended up running back home as well, his fast feet being a boon in this case as he was able to loose the bullies in next to no time. But, when he finally reached home with the wallet, Uncle Vernon had come in at the same time. Catching sight of the wallet, he immediately decided to jump to the most ‘obvious’ conclusion, that he had been the one to steal it. Snatching the wallet from his fingers, his uncle whacked him so hard that he actually flew back into a wall from the force. Snarling about Harry ‘stealing from the family that was kind enough to take him in’, he demanded that he leave and never come back. The shock, humiliation and the outright _unfairness_ of it all had caused him to take his uncle up on the offer. Leave he did, though he _had_ planned on coming back.

That was until he managed to get himself lost good and proper, of course. He kept wandering for at least two days, trying to figure out how to get back when he came across the most beautiful gateway that he had ever seen. The tall, red gate obviously belonged to a temple or shrine of some sort. So, he decided to climb up the stairs, hoping that he would at least find someone who would give him some food. The people in the churches back home were always quite helpful, so hopefully the people in the shrines here would be helpful as well.

His search for people had ended when he collapsed at the base of a large tree. Climbing up all those stairs had left him tired, so rather than searching for anyone, he had decided to sink down and rest his limbs and eyes for a bit. He had awoken with a start, catching hold of the hand that had been touching his face. He had been surprised to find himself face-to-face with a small girl with pretty brown eyes and long black hair. He had felt a little unnerved and confused, not to mention that his whole body had been feeling sluggish and numb. It was only when she had softly asked him who he was in Japanese that he’d noticed that they were surrounded by snow.

The girl had somehow led him till her home, where he had finally ended up meeting the rest of the Higurashi family, and had been relieved to find that the girl’s, Kagome’s, father could understand him. Harry had quickly explained that he had been kicked out of his home due to a misunderstanding, and Mr. Higurashi had offered to let him stay at their home until he could get in touch with Child Services. He had readily agreed, since he hadn’t had any other option.

In the following days, he had slowly found that he had been integrated into the family in spite of him being an outsider. Kagome in particular had made him feel very welcome, nicknaming him ‘Ha’ri’, which Harry had warmed up to quickly. It was a far nicer nickname than anything else he'd ever been given. When the woman had finally come in from Child Services, he had almost felt sad to leave.

Of course, he soon found out that the woman hadn’t really been from Child Services at all. She had been from a weird organisation called the ‘Ministry’. The woman had taken him back to her headquarters, where he had met the manager. There, the Manager had given him an offer. Either he could return to the Dursleys’ or he could remain a ward of the Ministry and work for them. He would earn money and, eventually, he could become a part of another family. A new beginning.

He had readily accepted the second option, especially after he’d heard _why_ exactly he had been with the Dursleys in the first place. Since his uncle had kicked him out, the so called blood protection that he was entitled to had been cancelled out. He could be safe only when he was with people who truly counted him as family, after all.

He knew that he was far too young to be working for a living, especially some of the things he had done in order to work towards being entitled to gain a place with a civilian family, but he didn’t regret it. Especially now, since there was a possibility that he could become a part of the Higurashi family. He didn’t mind if anyone said that he was unnaturally fixated on that family. After all, they had unconditionally accepted him even though they didn’t know him or understand him.

He wouldn’t mind becoming a member of such a family at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **TRIGGER WARNINGS:** There are dicey implications of child neglect on the part of the Dursleys, as well as child labor/children being taken advantage of by a governmental body in this chapter. Also emotional manipulation, both by the agents of said governmental body we see, and from Harry, who's decided to... shall we say, cut some corners to ensure his personal safety and security? The boy _is_ well meaning, mind, but he's rather mercenary while attempting to get what he wants. 
> 
> \---
> 
> Hello! I see some familiar faces decided to stop by to read this here. Glad to have you around. *grins* Hope you enjoyed your introduction to Harry in this 'verse! After this, we can head on to the longer chapters, thankfully. Another four to go.
> 
> Remember, **kudos and comments are very welcome!** I'm trying to regain some impetus to get back to this fic, but it's been years, and while I do remember what I wanted to do with it, I'm not sure if anyone's actually interested in seeing it.
> 
> \---
> 
> For anyone interested, the next new post from me will be: a oneshot KHRxBleach fic, from my backlogged files on Tumblr.
> 
> You can find me **[@adelmortescryche](https://adelmortescryche.tumblr.com/)** \- come by and say hi! I don't bite.


	3. Chapter One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry gets offered a possible family. It's a wilder ride than you'd expect, especially when he goes in with ready plans for subterfuge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Head on bottom for **trigger warnings.**
> 
> English is in _Italics_ , and Japanese is in normal text.

Kagome had been on her way home when he crashed into her. She had stumbled and almost fallen down when a hand suddenly reached out and stabilized her. She had been ready to yell at the boy, when she suddenly noticed the smiling emerald green eyes that were eying her. Her eyes widened, and she squealed loudly, all but bouncing onto him, making him laugh softly. More than one of her classmates stopped to stare at them, a few girls giggling and muttering things while the boys backed off, praying that she wouldn’t suddenly leap at them next.

When she finally pulled back, he was still smiling softly. She flushed, but it was only when she was smiling back that she noticed. That warm undertone that had been in his smile before was gone now. She didn’t know why, but it made her feel uneasy.

“Um… Ha’ri! What are you doing here? How come you’re so close to my school? You’ve grown taller! It’s only been two months! How come you’re _taller_?!!” she said rapidly, before flushing in embarrassment. She was about to repeat herself, when he laughed quietly and answered, to her surprise, in Japanese.

“I… In area. With ‘helper’. And, I grow quick?” he offered bemusedly. His Japanese was horribly broken, but at least he was making sense. Though, she really couldn’t understand what he meant by ‘helper’. Suddenly, they were interrupted by a loud voice. She realised, with a small pout, that the voice was speaking in English.

They were joined by a tall, beautiful woman with long blond hair. She noticed with a start that it was the same woman as before, except that she had blond hair instead of the previous brown. The woman blinked at her in surprise, before laughing loudly. She was surprised to notice that this loud laugh was actually much more natural than the woman’s oily and fake smiles. The woman clapped Ha’ri loudly on his shoulder, and she couldn’t help but stare in horror as Ha’ri’s soft smile was abruptly replaced by a hateful glare. The woman didn’t seem all that surprised, she actually snickered. Ha’ri all but snarled at her, snapping out a sharp statement in his language. The woman rolled her eyes, before turning to look at _her._

“So, you’re Higurashi Kagome, right? I don’t believe I introduced myself to you last time. My name is Kurosawa Marie. I am with child services, and have been assigned to Harry’s case.”

Ha’ri, _Harry_ , interrupted with something that sounded rather rude, making the woman, Kurosawa-san, snort in laughter.

“My, rather protective, aren’t we _Potteru-san?_ ” she sneered. She could only watch silently as Ha’ri snorted, and muttered something in English. He turned and gave her a small, apologetic smile.

“Sorry. See later, yes?” he stated more than asked. She nodded dumbly, still not able to come to terms with this harsher, less innocent version of the boy she had met only two months ago. Two months ago, she was certain that he wouldn’t glare at people, or speak outright rudely with anyone. He was mistrustful back then, but he hadn’t seemed capable of openly showing his distrust as he was now.

Seeing her nod, his smile widened. He came forward and gave her a quick hug, which she automatically returned. She couldn’t help but hold herself a little stiffer in his embrace than before, though. After seeing him flawlessly switching his emotions from one to the next, as though not truly feeling the first, she wasn’t really able to act the same as she had been before. He seemed to notice the change immediately. When he pulled back, he wasn’t smiling as openly as he had been. Flinching slightly, she all but jumped at him to give him another hug before he could pull away completely. When she pulled back the second time, he was looking more than a little flustered, while Kurosawa-san was staring at the both of them with raised eyebrows. She flushed in embarrassment, and managed a hasty bow, before shooting off towards the shrine.

*

“So… you sure you want to become a Higurashi?” Marie asked, eyebrows raised. Still feeling mildly flustered, Harry turned to grace her with an irate look.

_“Of course I am. And, I mean what I said before._ Stay away _from Kagome. And the rest of the Higurashis, for that matter.”_

Marie rolled her eyes, and responded in kind.

_“Well, that’s exactly what I’m talking about. Why don’t you join another family and stay in touch with the Higurashis? I’m sure you and Kagome would make a rather cute couple some time in the future.”_

Harry stiffened, and shot her an incredulous look.

_“I’m_ nine years old _, Kurosawa! And, anyway, I have no ‘interest’ whatsoever in her. Purely platonic, I_ assure _you,”_ he all but hissed at her, stalking away. Marie snickered and followed him, merrily hopping from one step to the next.

_“My but you’ve got an amazing vocabulary for a nine year old. Sure you’re not just a dwarf, hiding your age for kicks?”_

Harry rolled his eyes, shooting her a disgusted look. He didn’t bother to dignify her last comment with an answer. Noticing his reluctance to answer, Marie laughed quietly. A feral smirk touched her lips for all of one second before disappearing and suddenly, she was back to acting like the cold bitch that she was.

_“At any rate, we need to meet up with her father in the coffee shop. You ready to play your role as the sad, sorry kid who had to be rescued from his home for the second time?”_

_“Sure, as long as you’re ready to play your role as the Child Services Representative who wants the Higurashis to adopt her charge.”_

Marie simply smirked, making him roll his eyes. God, but the woman was painful.

_“Since we’re both ready, lets get going.”_ He ground out, making her snicker. Dropping both her hands on his shoulders, she proceeded to firmly direct him towards the coffee shop they had originally been heading towards.

Even as they kept walking, Harry ignoring any random statements the blonde made, he couldn’t help but think back to the chance meeting he had had with his hopefully soon-to-be younger sister. She was just the same, long black hair and beautiful, warm brown eyes. Not to mention her ever loving hugs. He couldn’t help the small smile that spread across his face. Now that he actually thought about it, the girl had been the first person to actually accept him without anything attached. The first to actually accept him for _himself_.

That meant ever so much to him now. Especially after finding out the whole story behind his not having parents and his utterly unloving relatives.

“Heads up, brat. We’re here.”

He blinked, and looked up immediately. Here, indeed. The coffee shop was a small, cozy place. The kind that he wouldn’t mind hanging out in for some time if he wanted some peace and quiet. Marie still had an oddly gentle yet malicious smile on her face, which made him frown.

_“Kurosawa. For God’s sake, at least_ act _as though you’re a caring Child Services Rep. Go around smirking like that, and the man is_ bound _to figure out that there’s something wrong.”_

“Sure thing, kid. Just hold up your side of the act. And, try to speak in Japanese every once in a while. It won’t kill you.”

Shoulders stiffening imperceptibly, Harry looked down before silently following her into the shop.

*

They weren’t late. That he was definitely certain of. They couldn’t be late. He had just been too… _early_ in his eagerness. And apprehension.

Slowly sipping at his coffee, Higurashi Atsuo sighed inwardly. He honestly hadn’t known what to think when child services had gotten in touch with him again, barely two months after they had taken the young Harry Potter out of his hands. He had assumed that the boy had been returned to his family, and so, Atsuo had returned to caring for his own. Then, after suddenly receiving a call, claiming that the boy’s family had never been found, and that the only foster family that had been willing to take him in had turned out to be abusive…

Hearing the soft tinkling that signified someone’s entry into the shop, he quickly looked up, and proceeded to choke on a mouthful of coffee. Swallowing hurriedly, he placed the cup on the table before him, and put up a hand to attract the attention of the tall blonde woman who had entered, closely followed by a small, dark haired boy. Catching sight of him, she gave a broad smile. Placing a hand on the boy’s shoulder, she proceeded to steer him towards Atsuo’s table.

“Higurashi-san. Pleasure to meet you again, despite the less than pleasurable circumstances,” she said easily, bowing politely in her seat once she had sat down. The boy, Harry, had quickly yet silently scrambled into a seat as well, and was now studiously ignoring both of them, staring at the glass tabletop. Atsuo nodded distractedly, eying the small boy who seemed so different from the quiet yet innocently happy child that he met two months ago. Turning his attention back to the blonde, he gave a slight bow as well.

“I could say the same, Kurosawa-san. I have to say that I was rather surprised when I received a call from your department.”

Kurosawa smiled sadly, and patted Harry on his head. The boy’s shoulders stiffened, but he said nothing.

“You have to understand, we weren’t planning on calling you ourselves. When we were unable to find any traces of Harry’s family, we had been forced to draft him into foster care, as he had been so _uncomfortable_ with the thought of entering an orphanage, even on a temporary basis… Later, when we received a call from the family’s neighbours about their suspicions, we immediately removed him from their ‘care’, as you must have been informed over the telephone…”

Atsuo nodded silently, returning his gaze to the boy who was sitting stock-still in his seat. Frowning contemplatively, he put up a hand to stall the woman. He cleared his throat slightly, hoping that Harry would look up. Sadly, the boy merely stiffened a bit more, shifting his gaze from the table to the floor.

_“Harry, you must be thirsty or hungry from your travel… Is there anything that you would like to eat? Or drink?”_

The brunet stayed silent for a few more seconds, before finally tilting his head upwards to some degree. He wasn’t looking directly at him, but Atsuo was relieved to see that deep emerald gaze fixated on him from beneath the boy’s rather unruly fringe.

Harry pursed his lips lightly, and glanced to his right. Atsuo turned his attention back to the blonde who looked marginally surprised and, strangely enough, _amused_ , before she gave a nod. Seemingly taking that to be some form of permission, Harry looked back at him, and tilted his head to the side.

“Really? Buy me thing?”

Atsuo blinked first in surprise, then in delight to hear the child’s broken yet marginally confident speech.

“Of course I will. You can take a look in the menu, and I’ll get you whatever you want.”

Harry eyed him with a shuttered expression, before finally giving him a slow yet honest smile. Catching a glimpse of the child that Kagome had saved on that cold day in November in Harry’s smile, Atsuo couldn’t hold back the relief in his own. Raising a hand, he gestured towards a waiter to bring them a menu.

*

After being given his chocolate milkshake, Harry unobtrusively sipped at it, silently observing the conversation that Higurashi-san and Kurosawa were having while he continued to play the role of a boy who had been through an abusive household for two months. After the things he had actually seen and done those months, though, he couldn’t play the role of a scared little boy all that well; in spite of that being the role he had been told to play. He decided to go with a standoff-ish and rather cold depiction of his ‘prior self’ instead, since that would be easier to cast off over the years as he stayed in the Higurashi household. From Higurashi-san’s reactions, his acting capabilities seemed to be acceptable.

Throughout the conversation, which Kurosawa was gradually steering towards the possibility of the Higurashis adopting him, the blonde had the gall to occasionally shift her face towards him to _smirk._ If Higurashi-san hadn’t been so consumed with ensuring that he was fine, the man would definitely have suspected that something was amiss.

Finally, at the end of her lengthy explanation, Harry watched as Higurashi-san sat back, looking as though he didn’t know whether to be happy, worried or utterly confused.

“…So, what you’re asking is, am I willing to adopt Harry?” he asked finally. This time, the stiffening of Harry’s shoulders was completely voluntary, being unable to hide his unconscious reaction. He had hoped for so _long_ that the Higurashis would accept him… Ever since he had been taken in by them _before…_ before the Manager’s division had ever gotten the chance to sink their claws into him…

Kurosawa simply nodded, an uncharacteristic look of sobriety marring the usual twinge of sadistic amusement on her face. Not that Higurashi-san would have been able to tell the difference.

Higurashi-san bit his lower lip, looking torn. Closing his eyes, he seemed to think over it for a few moments, before sighing and opening his eyes. Harry felt a chill permeate through his spine, reaching up to fill his very synapses.

Looking first at Kurosawa, then at him, Higurashi-san looked pained but regretful.

“Kurosawa-san, I truly appreciate the amount of trust you’re placing in me, but…”

Harry abruptly choked on his milkshake. Higurashi-san stopped in the middle of his apologetic speech, looking horrified as he reached out to presumably pat him on the back, but Harry instinctively edged his chair away from the man. Higurashi-san was left with his hand reaching out into space. Looking contrite, he hesitantly pulled it back. He turned back to Kurosawa, still looking rather apologetic, but particularly decided in his manner.

“As I was saying, I appreciate the amount of trust you’re putting in me, but you’ll have to wait. At least for a few days. I need to discuss this with my family, and my children. As much as it pains me to refrain from doing so, I simply _can’t_ give you an immediate answer.”

Harry swallowed roughly, before forcing himself to get up. Kurosawa looked at him from the corner of her eyes, apparently unsurprised. She delicately bowed, before straightening to stand up with a smile. Higurashi-san stood up as well, his gaze shifting from him to the blonde woman beside him.

“Thank you for your consideration and for your time, Higurashi-san. I’ll get in touch with you after a week then?”

Harry looked up for the first time since he had actually set foot in the shop, unable to hold back the raw hope and sheer _want_ building up within him. Higurashi-san’s warm brown eyes met his for one very long moment, before he looked away to meet Kurosawa’s gaze instead.

“That’ll be great, Kurosawa-san. You and Harry are welcome to visit the shrine any number of times within the week. In fact, I would actually appreciate it, since it could help the family decide faster.”

Eying the man shrewdly, Kurosawa couldn’t hold back her characteristically toothy smirk.

“Why, _Mr. Higurashi_ , you speak as though you’ve already made your decision.”

Harry felt something clench almost _painfully_ around his heart as Higurashi-san met her teasing comment with pure seriousness as he answered.

“I believe that I have, _Miss Kurosawa_. I know what my decision on this matter is. All that is left is for my wife and children to decide whether or not they are comfortable with a new family member.”

*

It was all very strange, Kagome decided. She had been bursting to tell her family about her chance meeting with Harry on her way back home, but both Mama and Grandpa had been acting very strange. When she had said that she wanted to say something, both of them had given her very… _weird_ smiles before telling her to say whatever it was that she wanted to say after her papa had gotten home. Mama had then proceeded to usher her towards baby Souta’s room.

She honestly didn’t know what to think, so she decided to change into her home clothes before going into the baby room to play with her baby brother. The adorable, gurgling ball of laughter was enough to make her forget her confusion and the strangeness, at least until her papa actually got home.

She had known the exact moment at which Papa returned; Mama and Grandpa had both given very loud gasps that she had been able to hear even in the baby room. Poking Souta in the stomach one last time to hear him giggle, she turned around to leave the room and stealthily sneak towards the kitchen, hoping to hear the reason for everyone’s strangeness.

Even after she reached the kitchen and hid behind the door, she still wasn’t able to hear anything. Everyone was speaking so softly… Then she flinched, as someone banged a hand against the kitchen counter.

“ _Adopt him?!!_ Are they _insane?!!_ ” yelled her Grandpa loudly. She frowned in confusion. Adopt? What was that?

“Grandpa, don’t be like that… it’s a perfectly understandable consideration. We _were_ the ones who actually got in touch with them in the first place…” said mama consolingly, though she sounded shocked herself. Papa was still silent.

“All the same, both of you already have two children, one of them a baby boy! Surely they should take such things into consideration before asking that you take another one under your wing!” he snapped back. Kagome tilted her head to the side, trying her hardest to understand what all the adults were talking about so angrily. Finally, her papa entered the conversation.

“Father, its fine. I myself don’t mind the request. I was seriously considering it before I reminded myself to discuss it with everyone at home, especially the children. I should think that Souta and Kagome would be the most affected by this decision.” He said seriously. Kagome blinked in surprise, before smiling with pride. Her papa thought she was old enough to understand what all the adults were discussing! Then, her smile was quickly exchanged for a frown. What in the world did ‘adopt’ _mean_ , if it was making everyone get so angry and worried?

“And why would you say that? A child is like an _investment_ my boy, the time, care and money that goes into the upbringing of two children, let alone _three…”_

Kagome finally thought she could understand what was happening, remembering her parents and Grandpa talking about something like this before baby Souta came into the house. Maybe her mama had another baby Souta inside her now?

“Father, I’m not thinking in terms of investments, money or anything of the sort when I say that Kagome and Souta would be most affected by this decision if we do take it. Those _are_ important things to think about, but all the same. If we _do_ adopt Harry, both Kagome and Souta would be getting an _older_ brother. The amount of change that could cause in their relationships… not to mention the pressure that it could possibly put on Harry himself…”

Kagome couldn’t stop the loud gasp that escaped her lips. Harry? Harry as an older brother, for her and Souta?!! She was so shocked that she didn’t even notice when the conversation inside the kitchen suddenly came to a stop. So, she was still sitting in a daze behind the door when Mama actually came to open it. Kagome quickly put out a hand to stop herself from crashing into the floor. She stayed like that for a few seconds, feeling her cheeks burn in embarrassment, even as both papa and Grandpa stared at her from their seats in the kitchen.

“Kagome? Why were you hiding outside like that?” asked papa finally, sounding more than a little amused. Kagome pushed herself up, only to flop back on the ground with a pout.

“Because mama and grandpa were acting very strange!” she snapped, still pouting. Papa’s eyebrows rose, and he turned his gaze towards mama and grandpa, both of whom were looking uncomfortable.

“Strange?” he repeated, a little curious. Mama sighed, leaning against the doorjamb.

“When Kagome came home, she said that she wanted to say something to us, but since we were so worried about your meeting with the child services representative and Harry-”

“Oh! You met Kurosawa-san and Ha’ri?” interrupted Kagome, wide-eyed. Mama stopped talking to stare at her, as did grandpa. Papa cleared his throat.

“Do you know Kurosawa-san, Kagome?” he asked carefully. Kagome nodded happily.

“Yes, I do. I met her today on the way back home along with Ha'ri. She was very strange too, she had a big smile on her face, and she had been teasing Ha'ri a lot… Ha'ri got very angry with her and said something in _English_ … it sound funny, like _su-taye waye_ or something… and he said my name…” she said, slowly winding down in her confusion, remembering the harsh glare that had appeared on his face when he had spoken to the tall, beautiful woman. Mama and grandpa looked confused too, but papa looked shocked. He stared at her for a moment, before sighing.

“Well, putting that aside, I might as well ask you now. This is a very important question, Kagome, and I want you to think very carefully before you answer, okay?” he said, bending down so that he could look at her without any obstructions. Kagome straightened herself, breathing in deeply before nodding with a look of intense concentration on her face.

“What would you say if Ha'ri could become your brother? Your big brother?”

Kagome blinked, and all the air she had breathed in got stuck somewhere in her throat. She tried not to choke. She stared up at her papa, hoping that he actually meant what he was saying. Though, he _had_ been discussing it with mama and grandpa…

“Really? Like, Ha'ri will stay in the shrine with us and everything? He’ll come to the same school as me?” she asked carefully. Her papa nodded seriously, as did mama. Grandpa just looked away with a snort.

She thought about it for a few seconds, before she gave a wide smile.

“Okay!”

Mama and papa blinked in surprise, while grandpa choked. Papa coughed, sounding as though he was trying not to laugh.

“Okay? Just like that?”

Kagome nodded happily.

“Ha'ri’s nice; he really liked Souta and played with him a lot. He called me Kago-chan and taught me how to climb trees really fast. He could sing some nice songs that put Souta to sleep when he was feeling tired, and one day when some boys who had come to the main shrine with _their_ mama and papa tried to pull my hair, Ha'ri got really angry and started yelling at them. They went away really quickly! And-”

“Whoa, whoa, slow down Kagome!” gasped papa. Mama was already laughing, while grandpa was looking surprised.

“Did Harry really do all that?” asked grandpa suspiciously.

She nodded again, scowling at him when he didn’t believe her. Papa still looked surprised, and amused, while mama was trying to stop her laughter.

“I guess you’ve made the decision for yourself and Souta. Now, all that’s left would be mama and grandpa.” Said papa, smiling. When mama finally stopped laughing, she smiled as well.

“I don’t think I would mind if he’s so responsible and such a good influence on Kagome and Souta. And he obviously cares for them both. Kago-chan seems to be quite attached to him, too…” she said. Kagome squealed, and looked up imploringly at her grandpa. Seeing the look in her eyes, grandpa coughed gruffly before looking away.

“Fine! If all of you are so excited about it, go ahead! But, don’t say that I didn’t warn you!” he said sharply, though the effect was ruined by the small smile that was curling around his lips. Kagome squealed in delight, and all but threw herself at her grandpa, who laughed before hoisting her up into his arms.

‘Ha'ri’s going to come back! He’s going to become my brother! Oh, I’m so happy! Wait till I tell Souta!’ she thought excitedly, giggling as her grandpa threw her in the air. Papa clapped his hands together, while mama called out worriedly, telling grandpa to be careful.

Mama, papa and grandpa. Her, Ha'ri, and Souta. They were going to be the happiest family in the world. She just knew it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **TRIGGER WARNINGS:** The main one I'd like to stress on here is emotional manipulation. Atsuo, Kagome's dad, walks straight into the trap being laid for him, here; and serious concerns being expressed _against_ adoption, if with logically argued points. 
> 
> Also, parts of the language discourse might be uncomfortable for some? Keep in mind that Kagome's roughly 6 or 7 - she's started English classes at school, but studying a foreign language as a subject is very different from being able to understand native speakers having a fast paced, complex argument in front of you. Which would be why Kagome doesn't understand a word of what's happening when the characters switch languages. This wasn't little me assuming that Kagome couldn't understand English at all.
> 
> \---
> 
> In case you wonder where the name Atsuo came from, and if it's canon, think no further - it isn't. I couldn't find a canon name for Kagome's father so I had to name him myself. 
> 
> Thanks for the kudos, and for _your_ comment, @onceabluemoon! This one's for you, hopefully little Kagome makes you day better.
> 
> Remember, while this might be an older fic, **kudos and comments are still welcome!**. Let me know what you think. Also, the next few chapters are going to pick up pace really fast, because we're entering _timeskip territory_. *grins*
> 
> \---
> 
> For anyone interested, next fic in line to be posted: an FMA oneshot I fondly refer to as my Wrath!Roy AU, from my backlogged works on Tumblr.
> 
> You can find me **[@adelmortescryche](https://adelmortescryche.tumblr.com/)** \- come by and say hi! I don't bite.


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